One last storm comment, or realization
Many thoughts came from experiencing the storm recently. Some are banal, like we sure never want to experience that again and that on the whole we were really fortunate although it never really felt that way.
Some were practical, the main one being do we finally get a generator installed at the back side of our house, presumably in the area behind shrubs next to the a/c compressors, which don't look too swift right now. Do we then join the lines of red container carrying pilgrims at gas stations, at night crowds that looked like something out of the 1930's. It's not a pleasant choice, but we still have winter ahead and if there is another big storm in 20 degree weather and LIPA collapses again, well, it would be worth every penny and every bit of effort.
But, the big one for me is the fear of being trapped. It's been on my mind most of the years that we have lived on this island. It may be Long but it is still an Island. While my previous short lived late night fears had not been based on weather but on terrorism, it's all the same. This was the first experience of it. No power, exceptionally limited gasoline availability, no mass transit working, for the most part no cell phone service, so where to go. The one tunnel off of the Island into Manhattan was flooded. Two of the four bridges were closed but for us that did not matter because the Mayor required that no cars be admitted unless there were three passengers. There are two bridges that head north into Westchester County toward upstate NY and Connecticut, but they are not close and with all of the first responders, repair crews, and roadblocks, could one even get there before running out of gas.
In short, there was no way out and it was not a good feeling. Bad events can happen anywhere of course, but this whole deal felt sort of claustrophobic. Should we live here long term, if that's the way we feel?
Nice area in many ways but is it a place to get older, especially since our economic livelihood is no longer related to where we live. Well, that's not completely true. The cost of living and tax burden could hardly be much higher anywhere.
Some were practical, the main one being do we finally get a generator installed at the back side of our house, presumably in the area behind shrubs next to the a/c compressors, which don't look too swift right now. Do we then join the lines of red container carrying pilgrims at gas stations, at night crowds that looked like something out of the 1930's. It's not a pleasant choice, but we still have winter ahead and if there is another big storm in 20 degree weather and LIPA collapses again, well, it would be worth every penny and every bit of effort.
But, the big one for me is the fear of being trapped. It's been on my mind most of the years that we have lived on this island. It may be Long but it is still an Island. While my previous short lived late night fears had not been based on weather but on terrorism, it's all the same. This was the first experience of it. No power, exceptionally limited gasoline availability, no mass transit working, for the most part no cell phone service, so where to go. The one tunnel off of the Island into Manhattan was flooded. Two of the four bridges were closed but for us that did not matter because the Mayor required that no cars be admitted unless there were three passengers. There are two bridges that head north into Westchester County toward upstate NY and Connecticut, but they are not close and with all of the first responders, repair crews, and roadblocks, could one even get there before running out of gas.
In short, there was no way out and it was not a good feeling. Bad events can happen anywhere of course, but this whole deal felt sort of claustrophobic. Should we live here long term, if that's the way we feel?
Nice area in many ways but is it a place to get older, especially since our economic livelihood is no longer related to where we live. Well, that's not completely true. The cost of living and tax burden could hardly be much higher anywhere.
posted by John Borden at 4:42 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home